At the centennial of the university in 1864, General Burnside, always a warm friend of Brown, was among the speakers, as he indeed was at various other times. It is not generally known, perhaps, that maternally Burnside was of Irish descent. Yet such is the fact. Ambrose E. Burnside, whose portrait occupies an honored place on the walls of the university, was a son of Edghill and Pamelia (Brown) Burnside. Pamelia Brown, the general’s mother, was the daughter of John Brown, an Irish immigrant, who had located in South Carolina. Ben: Perley Poore’s “Life of General Burnside” refers to Pamelia, his mother, as “having the fair skin and brown hair of her Celtic ancestors, with large, expressive hazel eyes.” She was born in the Laurens district, S. C. It is generally claimed that Burnside, in the male line, was of direct Scottish descent. I do not dispute this, although Burnsides are numerous in Ireland, and have been so for nearly three hundred years. The Irish Burnsides have been allied with prominent families in Cavan, Donegal and other parts of the country. The name is mentioned in O’Hart’s Irish Pedigrees. Betsy Burnside, an Irish woman, was a resident of Lincoln, R. I., some years ago, being then ninety-five years of age. We read that at Fredericksburg, as Meagher’s shattered lines were retiring from their heroic efforts, Burnside saluted Meagher as the latter passed and silently grasped his hand. It was a meeting of two valiant commanders, the one of Irish birth, the other of maternal Irish descent, a fit subject for the greatest painter that ever lived. Fitting it was that an Irish sculptor was selected to produce the equestrian statue of Burnside which stands in Providence. But Burnside is not the only personage of Irish lineage whom Brown has honored by permanently displaying his portrait on her walls. There is another—Commodore Perry, the hero of Lake Erie. Perry of Irish lineage? Yes, on his mother’s side. Who was his mother? Sarah Alexander, a native of Newry, Ireland. During our Revolution some American prisoners of war were confined by the British at Newry, Sarah’s native place. Among them was Christopher R. Perry. The American prisoners naturally elicited much commiseration from the Irish, who were in hearty sympathy with the Revolution. Miss Alexander became acquainted with Mr. Perry during his imprisonment. This acquaintance in after years ripened into love and marriage. Commodore Oliver H. Perry was their son. Shortly after their marriage they came to Rhode Island and settled in South Kingstown. They were described as “a young and uncommonly handsome couple,” and their advent was celebrated by feasting and sociality.